Yaupon’s Solitude Dude takes Bay Shore S. for third stakes win
April 18, 2026
Solitude Dude turned in another professional effort in Saturday’s Bay Shore S. at Aqueduct, rolling past Time to Roll in midstretch to win going away by two lengths.
The 3-year-old Yaupon colt has won four of five lifetime starts, three of them in stakes races. His only loss to date came in the Fountain of Youth (G2), when he was third to likely Kentucky Derby (G1) entrants Commandment and Chief Wallable.
The heavy favorite in the four-horse Bay Shore, Solitude Dude was content to let Time to Roll blaze through a half-mile in :44.80. Closely tracking the pacesetter around the turn, Solitude Dude engaged Time to Roll after turning for home and went by him rather easily, ultimately stopping the timer in 1:23 flat for the seven furlongs on a fast track.
“He was right there, every moment when I asked him,” jockey Javier Castellano said. “That’s what I really like in the horse. He’s a smart horse and keeps track of the flow. When I asked him, he took off, he galloped out good and steady, straightforward.”
Solitude Dude upped his earnings to $296,970 for owner Chris Fountoukis. Solitude Dude was purchased by his trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. on behalf of his owner for $300,000 at the 2025 OBS June sale. The winner was bred in Kentucky by Martha Buckner & Matthew Ernst.
Yaupon, the leading Second-Crop sire this year, has nine stakes winners to date, topped by Albus, winner of the Wood Memorial (G2) who will make his next start in the May 2nd Kentucky Derby (G1).